Sanders: Hoosiers, Crean will be OK despite player turnover
By BROCK SANDERS
ISL Correspondent
INDIANAPOLIS – Do IU’s players really dislike Tom Crean?
Why are so many transferring? Is Indiana slipping just when things started to look promising?
I don’t think so. Hoosier fans can settle down and realize that this is all just part of the process, and all these transfers and rumors actually take a deeper level of understanding of NCAA rules to fully comprehend.
In the past week, redshirt sophomore forward Austin Etherington and sophomore forward Jeremy Hollowell both announced that they would be transferring to a different school. Over the next several months, they will both be evaluating their options of where to transfer.
Etherington, a 6-foot-6 Cicero native from Hamilton Heights, will be graduating this May, making him a three year graduate. He will be looking to take advantage of the fairly new NCAA rule regarding graduation-transfer. Essentially, what this rule states is that upon a player’s graduation, he or she may transfer immediately to another institution to finish out their five-year eligibility without sitting out a year. If a player transfers before graduation, they must sit out a full season before they are able to play with their new team.
Being a three-year graduate, Etherington will be able to play two more full seasons at another university and will probably be playing more than he would at IU. Etherington averaged only 7.4 minutes per game over his career at IU, but earned 10.6 minutes per game this season. There has been talk of Austin possibly transferring to Indiana State to play with his brother, Alex, who is a freshman on the team. Etherington is a talented player that will surely make an impact wherever he decides to go, but it is certainly a shame to see him leave the Hoosiers.
Crean has been a big fan of Etherington from the beginning saying, “He is going to be a three-year graduate and wants an opportunity to look for somewhere he can have a larger role. Even though that is his choice, we are going to miss him. He is a fine young man.”
Jeremy Hollowell is out of Indianapolis and Lawrence Central High School. At 6-8, Hollowell looked like a very promising recruit coming in as a freshman. I watched him several times in high school and thought he would be the next big thing to hit Indiana. He created matchup problems all over the floor and could single-handedly dominate the game against other very good central Indiana teams. But that was high school. Hollowell has not lived up to expectations, to say the least. He started 15 games this season and played in 62 games over his two-year career. He averaged 4.2 points per game shooting a mere 37% from the field and only 23% from deep. In Big Ten play this season, Hollowell only hit one three pointer. Let me say that again. Jeremy Hollowell hit only one three pointer in Big Ten play this season. For a wing player that came in known as a good shooter, Hollowell definitely disappointed some Indiana fans.
Nonetheless, the Hoosiers are losing a player with huge potential, and that could hurt them in the future. Some of us saw what happened with Maurice Creek turning into somewhat of a superstar for George Washington this year and making it into the tournament as a No. 8 seed. Even though Hollowell wasn’t injured, the same type of thing is possible, where he improves and has the potential to also be a superstar for a team. Because Hollowell is only a true sophomore, he must sit out a year according to NCAA rules. He then will have two years of eligibility.
Don’t fret. If Indiana plays its cards right in the upcoming years, the Hoosiers will still be a force to be reckoned with in college basketball. On the other hand, if they make a few wrong moves they could be headed to the dark days of Kelvin Sampson again, who by the way is a lead candidate for the University of Houston’s head coaching position. Why, you ask, would another university hire Sampson after all of his drama caused at a premier program such as IU? Your guess is as good as mine. But that is beside the point. The Hoosiers are at a pivotal point right now, with Noah Vonleh leaving for the draft, Will Sheehey graduating, and both Etherington and Hollowell transferring. IU needs to continue to recruit hard and try to retain some of the incredible players from right here in Indiana. We will see how this plays out over the next couple of months, but I expect Crean to bring Hoosier basketball back to greatness like he did last year.
IU fans, what do you think about Crean as a coach and this IU program? We would love to hear from you, comment below!
Ya I just seen on sportscenter that lee is going to ohio state